The Sultan of Sokoto Sa’ad Abubakar III has condemned in the strongest terms the killing of Fulani herdsmen in the Numan area of Adamawa state.

The attack alleged to have been carried out by farmers of the Bachama ethnic group in retaliation for the death of a colleague at the hands of Fulani herdsmen saw dozens of deaths with many of them children who were killed in their sleep.

Speaking during the commissioning of Pulaaku FM, a radio station owned by the Lamido of Adamawa, the sultan, who was represented by the Emir of Kano, Muhammad Sanusi II, stressed that government and other relevant security authorities should thoroughly investigate those involved for peace to reign.

He cautioned against misconstruing Fulani “patience for weakness.” He said: “May I use this opportunity to sympathise with people of Adamawa State, on the recent incident in Numan; and to appeal to security services, to thoroughly investigate the incident and bring the perpetrators to book.

“We have not forgotten what happened to Fulanis in Mambilla, Taraba State and we are still waiting for action from the security services.”

“It is important to remember, that at many points in our history, we make mistakes of confusing patience for weakness.

“I hope, we would not make that mistake this time; what happened in Numan would not go unpunished.”